Glossary
Terms that appear in the toolkit and in the recommended tools, explained in a few words.
Territory and data governance
- Biocultural
- The relationship between a territory's biological and cultural diversity: species, landscapes, languages, practices and knowledge that sustain one another.
- Traditional and local knowledge
- Knowledge that communities build and pass on about their territory: wildlife routes, seasons, species names, uses and stewardship practices. It belongs to those who share it.
- Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)
- The right of Indigenous peoples and local communities to decide, with complete information, without pressure and before it begins, on an activity that affects their territory, including monitoring and the use of their data.
- Data sovereignty
- The capacity of a community or institution to decide how data about its territory and people is collected, stored, used and shared.
- Sovereign Data Supply Chain
- A framework by Kinray Hub, NaturaTech LAC and Climate Collective that organizes the journey of data, from the territory that generates it to those who use it, in five protocols that give communities authority over their data.
- Revocability
- The community's right to suspend access or withdraw its data from an agreed use, through a procedure defined in the agreement.
- CARE Principles
- Principles for Indigenous data governance: Collective benefit, Authority to control, Responsibility and Ethics. They complement the FAIR principles for open data.
- Sensitive species
- A species whose exact location, if published, could facilitate its hunting, capture or disturbance. Its records are generalized or protected.
Fieldwork
- Camera trap
- A camera triggered by an animal's movement or body heat that records photos or video day and night.
- Sampling station
- A point where a camera or a pair of facing cameras is installed. Pairs photograph both flanks of an animal to identify it.
- Wildlife crossing
- A place where animals frequently cross: trails, clearings, waterhole edges or road crossings. It is usually identified through local knowledge.
- Deployment
- The period during which a camera or recorder operates at a station, from installation to removal.
- Sampling effort
- The total time the equipment was active, for example in camera-days. It allows sites and seasons to be compared fairly.
- Passive acoustic monitoring
- Automatic recording of environmental sounds with autonomous recorders to identify birds, amphibians, bats and other groups.
AI analysis
- Detection
- The step in which an AI model indicates whether an image contains an animal, a person or a vehicle, or is empty.
- Classification
- The step in which a model suggests the species present in an image or a sound, with a confidence level.
- Individual identification
- Recognizing a specific animal by its unique markings, such as a jaguar's rosette pattern.
- Human validation
- Review of each AI result by a person who knows the species, before it is used.
- Independent event
- A set of records of the same species at a station counted as a single visit, based on an agreed time interval, for example 30 minutes.
- Metadata
- Information that accompanies each file: station, date, time, equipment and settings. It makes it possible to use the record in an analysis.
- Camtrap DP
- An open standard format for exchanging camera trap data between platforms and publishing it on GBIF.
Landscape and management
- Umbrella species
- A species with such extensive habitat needs that protecting it also protects many others. The jaguar is an example.
- Spatial recapture
- Recording the same individual at two or more different sites. It provides evidence about its movement and use of the landscape.
- Ecological connectivity
- The degree to which the landscape allows species and ecological processes to move between habitat areas.
- Biological corridor
- A strip of land that maintains or restores the connection between habitat areas so wildlife can move.
- Land cover and land use
- A description of what is on the ground, such as forest, mangrove, grassland, water or urban area, and how people use it.
- Remote sensing
- Study of the territory using images taken by satellites, aircraft or drones.
- OECM
- Other effective area-based conservation measure: an area outside formal protected areas that conserves biodiversity in a lasting way, according to the criteria of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
- IUCN Green List
- A global standard that recognizes protected and conserved areas with good governance, sound design, effective management and conservation outcomes. The GL-SAT self-assessment is a first step to prepare.
- GL-SAT
- The IUCN online tool that lets a protected area team assess its situation against the Green List Standard, identify gaps and define improvement actions. It is a learning tool and does not grant certification.
- COMPASS
- The IUCN online platform where areas register their commitment, upload evidence and follow the formal process toward Green List certification.
- EAGL
- Expert Assessment Group for the Green List. It reviews the evidence of each candidate area, makes a field visit and recommends whether to certify it.
- WDPA
- World Database on Protected Areas, by the IUCN and UNEP. Each area has a unique identifier used, for example, to register in GL-SAT.